February 27, 2019

FT apologises for issues with newspaper deliveries after move to stop using plastic wrapping

The Financial Times sent a letter of apology after its decision to stop using plastic wrapping led to one subscriber’s newspaper being blown away by the wind, with the publisher saying it was aware of “ongoing issues”.

Tom Brooks-Pollock said the pages of his FT Weekend, which is delivered to his doorstep in north London, had all blown away on a blustery Saturday earlier this month, with just the magazine remaining.

Just over a week later, he received a letter from FT global print circulation director Janet White apologising for “the recent issues you may have experienced with your FT newspaper deliveries”.

The FT has stopped using plastic bags to protect newspapers during deliveries since the start of the year – with exceptions for harsh weather – in response to environmental concerns from readers.

Brooks-Pollock, who works as a BBC journalist, said he thought the FT’s decision might have been taken “slightly rashly” and without planning for what might happen to newspapers left without a protective wrap.

“I do support the aim of looking after the environment but there must be a way of doing it without your paper blowing away,” he told Press Gazette.

In her letter, White said: “At the start of the year we committed to reducing the environmental impact of our business by removing the plastic wrapping from our newspaper deliveries.

“We are aware of some ongoing issues and appreciate that your delivery has not been up to the standard that you expect. Rest assured, we are working with our distributor to resolve these issues as soon as possible.

“We will continue to deliver your FT newspaper without a plastic wrap unless weather dictates otherwise, to stay true to our environmental commitment.”

An FT spokesperson said: “We removed plastic packaging from all home deliveries at the beginning of the year and are working with our distributor to ensure this doesn’t affect the condition of the paper.”

The Guardian’s Saturday edition and The Observer became the first national titles to use biodegradable wrapping from January this year.